1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the customization of information. More particularly, the present invention relates to the distribution of customized multimedia content over a network.
2. Related Applications
Pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/818,804, filed Mar. 14, 1997, entitled "Production of a Video Stream with synchronized Annotations over a Computer Network", now U.S. Pat. No. 6,006,241 is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
3. Description of the Related Art
With the proliferation of connections to the internet by a rapidly growing number of consumers, the viability of the internet as a widely accepted marketing channel using multimedia content has increased correspondingly. However, in a substantially dispersed marketplace, sending the same marketing content to all the consumers within the marketplace is not cost effective.
This is because consumers within the substantially dispersed marketplace may have diverse interests since their needs can vary greatly. Using a sporting goods example, a busy executive may only be interested in stationary exercise machines, while a retired engineer may be interested in rifles and camping equipment. Consumer needs also vary greatly depending on geographical location. Swimsuits are probably more popular in San Diego than in Anchorage. Conversely, snow mobiles are probably sell better in Alaska than in Arizona.
As such, efficient distribution of marketing information is needed to avoid wasting network resources. However, traditional methods of marketing generally involve mass marketing information to the consumers within the marketplace. This mass marketing model is unsatisfactory for large marketplaces wherein the consumers are more likely to have diverse interest.
In view of the foregoing, there are desired improved techniques for efficiently distributing marketing information over a computer network to consumers with diverse interest, while efficiently utilizing the network resources thereby providing consumers with information that is of interest to the individual consumer in a cost effective manner.